The Ministry of Strategy and Finance says it has not decided to impose taxes on profits from virtual currency trading.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance has denied the news report that the government had decided to impose a transfer tax of around 10 percent on profits from virtual currency transactions.

One domestic media outlet reported on June 22 that the government decided to regard profits from virtual money transactions as “other income” under the tax law and would impose a transfer tax of about 10%.

Other income refers to a temporary or irregular income, not business income or earned income, such as payment for project participation, writing a manuscript, or teaching.

Since the beginning of this year, the Korean government has been trying to plan a way to impose taxes on profits from virtual money trading. It has sent managers of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to major advanced countries to learn about their virtual currency taxation system.

However, even if the government decides to impose taxes on profits from cryptocurrency trading, it is necessary to establish a legal system to secure the taxation information from virtual money exchanges, so it is most likely that real taxation will take a considerable time.